Drenching Rains in Mission

Roger here....  The storm clouds are gathering.  Yay!!!!!   We are finally going to get a soaking rain in Mission.  

Dianne and I watched the radar on our I-phones.  It is headed this way!  We brought in the chair cushions and took pictures of the clouds as they rolled in.

The winds picked up.  It was blowing so hard that the water from our fountain blew away from the collecting bowl and onto the driveway.

I am so glad we spent the money to have gutters installed on the coach house.  We are really going to need them today.

Here it comes!  A four-incher!  Just to clarify, a four-incher in Indiana would mean four inches in depth.  A four-incher in Texas means four inches between the raindrops.  In Indiana, rain is measured with a rain gauge.  In Texas, rain is measured with a ruler.  






Dianne and I actually sat outside during the hour-long spitting of rain and enjoyed getting splattered even though we did not really even get wet.  Bandido thought it was fun.  

Ixora

All of last season's potted plants died during the five months we were away -- not nearly enough rain.  (Zero probably equates to not nearly enough).  We expected that would probably happen.  As Dianne mentioned in the last post, one of our first tasks was to buy new plants to replace them.  With daily watering, the new plants are doing well. 

Portulaca

Bougainvillea

Firecracker Plant

Since we were already playing in the dirt, we decided to add a couple large blue pots to our landscaped areas.

Pride of Barbados

We even found a place to grow a couple of tomato plants that Dianne grew from seed and has been babying in the motor home.  The pots are on rollers so we can move them inside if it gets too cold --- right now it is hard to imagine that it would ever get too cold here.


Almost all of the plants that were in the ground survived the drought.  Our planting areas and our lawn have an underground drip irrigation system.  However, I must say that they are doing even better with a daily squirt of water.


The survivors (a few of them)......

"Belinda's Dream" Shrub Rose

Aloe Vera

Dianne here:  They try to keep with organic landscaping here at Retama.  The other day the landscaping crew sprinkled composted manure on all the beds, and yesterday they came back with fresh mulch.  Roger and I have spread truckloads of mulch over the years at our various homes, and it's so nice to just enjoy the results here without the backbreaking sweat that goes along with it!  

Prickly Pear Cactus & Meyer Lemon

We measured lemon tree (I grew it from seed about 5 years ago) just before we left last May, and it was 16" tall.  The day we returned, Roger re-measured it, and it is now 24" tall (shown on the right in the above photo).  I guess lemon tree likes it here! 

The pet picture of the day shows Bandido inspecting the pumpkin zombie that appeared in our back yard after the drenching rain.  His first reaction was to growl at it while slowly slinking forward.  Then he figured out that it was one of Dianne's toys.

A final note from Dianne:  This little scarecrow (it's an iron frame with a loop on top to place a pumpkin head) has had several incarnations over the years, as shown in the following photos from our former home in Pendleton, Indiana:

White Pumpkin Scarecrow + "Little Mermaid" Kaia

Here it is another year, with another photo of a very young Kaia posing beside it (I've shown this photo before; it's still one of my favorites of Kaia):

Painted Pumpkin Head + Kaia

And finally, Kaia and her mom, Amanda, posing with my scarecrow on a different Halloween:

Amanda, Kaia, and Carved Head Pumpkin Scarecrow

I haven't been able to use my scarecrow frame for the past three years that we've been full-timing, so it was fun to get it out to use it here in Texas, with a few minor modifications!  A real pumpkin wouldn't last a week in 90+ degree temps, so we found a metal one here at the local grocery store.  I substituted a small prickly pear cactus instead of a basket of apples for the same reason.

Port Lavaca and Home to Retama

Hi all, Dianne here.  Well, we're back at our winter home, Retama Village, in Mission, Texas.  First, though, I'll chronicle our short stay at Lighthouse Beach RV Park in Port Lavaca on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Lighthouse Beach RV park is a municipal-run park right on the bay.  We enjoyed full hookups and a view of the bay for $29/night.  The sites are close together, but we were lucky in that the sites on either side remained empty during our stay.

Most of our time was spent either enjoying the view and tropical breeze at our site or walking the 2,200-foot-long boardwalk over the marsh and viewing the shore birds.  Egrets, small blue heron, willet, roseate spoonbill, ibis -- these are just a few of the interesting birds that we saw during our walks.  Bandido enjoyed the boardwalk until it ventured out over open water and he could see the water through the cracks; then he didn't like it at all!

There is a small beach area at the park.  We didn't use it, because dogs are not allowed on the beach.  

Here's a final sunset shot from Port Lavaca, bringing this summer's travels to an end.  We've been on the road for five months; it's time now to settle in and save our pennies for next summer's adventures.

We were anxious to finally get home to our winter spot.  We pulled into Retama Village around 3:00 p.m. last Monday and made our way down Mallard Drive to our tiny little home.  It was still all buttoned down for the winter, with Reflectix in the windows and all of our outdoor furnishings stacked inside.  (This is necessary in case of hurricane winds; even the garbage can is supposed to be stored inside in our absence.)


We had only been home an hour or so, when down the street came our friends Jim and Sue (who we met up with in Duluth this summer), bringing us each a cold beer and a chew-bone for Bandido!  What a nice welcome!   They've been back a couple of weeks, getting their newly-purchased home furnished and settling in.  


Most folks have not returned yet, but several have arrived even since we came in on Monday.  It's fun to renew acquaintances, and we look forward to lots of fun times this season.


Bandido is very happy to be able to chase balls and run free at the dog park.  He will enjoy it even more when his pals arrive from up north.  He has already renewed his friendship with Gabe and Click, Jim and Sue's whippets.


If I sound a little tired, it's because we've spent all week moving our things back outside, buying new plants for our containers, cleaning, and doing the loads and loads of laundry that I saved up, waiting to use my own washer and dryer -- no more laundromats for me until next summer!

Here are a few photos of our place now that we've settled back in:


BEFORE:

AFTER:

This year we can just enjoy our place and not have construction going on, as we did all last winter.  Our only chore this year is to repaint our faded Adirondack chairs a brighter red; they've pretty much faded to pink, as shown in the above photo.


We moved my antique metal comfy/bouncy chairs to the side area in order to take advantage of the afternoon shade.  It's still really hot here (mid-90s), but with the constant breeze and low humidity, it's actually very pleasant so long as you stay in the shade.

We probably won't be updating the blog quite as often while we're holed up here for the winter, but we'll keep you posted on our Retama winter fun as things occur.

The pet photo of the day shows Bandido and Charlie laying on the bed in Port Lavaca, keeping vigil out the open window at night.  (See why we keep a sheet on top of the bedspread?  It's Charlie's favorite spot, especially when that window is open.)

Shiner, Texas --- Home of my Favorite Brewery

Roger here.... On most mornings I awaken to someone licking my nose -- not Dianne, Bandido.  This morning was different.  The first thing that roused me from a deep sleep was the Shiner Comanche Marching Band (drum line) as the musicians practiced on the football field right next to the municipal park where we are camped.  Marching band must be first period.


We are parked in Green-Dickson Municipal Park in a spacious  (water/electric) site ($20).  It is a great site, but our arrival was not the best.  We pulled into the wrong entrance of the park because there was no signage.  After a few stops along the roadway, Hector, a park employee, pointed us to the correct area.  (Hector is the kind of friendly Texan that we have come to respect in this state.)  When we found our spot, directly behind the city war memorial, the wind picked up and the sky turned purple.  Rain.  YES!  Oh no, I haven't hooked up the electricity.  Crap.  Oh, well.  Rain.  YES!


In order to pay for the site, we needed to drive a couple of miles into town to pay at the Municipal Building.  Since Bandido is afraid of thunder, he went with us, hopping along on Dianne's lap the entire way.  This blog does not have audio, but suffice it to say, audio feed of the trip would have included several of the following: "Ouch!, sit still!, Bandido SIT DOWN!, ouch, you're hurting me! ouch, ouch, ouch......  When we pulled up to the building, the sky broke loose --- a torrential rain, accompanied by Fourth-of-July type lightning and thunder.  I was soaked when I burst into the municipal offices.   My first sight was of  the employees who were literally laughing and dancing because it was finally raining.  I did not mind being wet, and I enjoyed the Texas hospitality that I was afforded.


OK.  You may be asking....  Why did we travel to a small Texas town in the middle of nowhere, between San Antonio and the gulf coast?  The answer is simple:  Beer.

The Spoetzl Brewery has been brewing Shiner beer since 1909.  The local German and Czech immigrants were anxious to find a German-type beer to remind them of their homeland.  They constructed the first facility and brought Kosmos Spoetzl from Germany to serve as the first brewmaster.  It is still a family operation.  The hops used in the brewing process are still imported from Germany and Czechoslovakia (and the State of Washington). 


I first tasted Shiner Bock when we visited Luckenbach, Texas a few years ago.  It seemed to be the only beer that the concertgoers were drinking.  I liked it, and still do.  (Even I like it, and I'm not really a beer drinker -- D.)  When planning our return to Retama, I discovered that Shiner, with a slight detour, was on the way.  So here we are.  Don't touch the copper cauldrons --- they're hot!

Ann took us on the first tour of the day.  What fun it was to hear about the local history and Kosmos Spoetzl, who must have been quite a character.  The brewery employs 90 workers, including a man (honored in the main hall) who continues to brew beer after 63 years -- a better man than me.  Watching the brewing and bottling process reminded me of our tour of the Tabasco Factory a couple of years ago.  Lots of fun.  (Unfortunately, no cameras allowed inside the brewing facility).

The tour ended at the gift shop, of course.  Not a problem for me.  Every participant was given four tokens, redeemable for sampling four beers.  The gold-medal-winning (out of 99 breweries) seasonal Oktoberfest beer was my favorite.  There were lots of things to buy.  After the hospitality, how could we not buy a few things?

We helped Shiner's bottom line by purchasing a large thermometer for our patio area at Retama, a Shiner ice bucket,  a couple of t-shirts, a visor (for Dianne), a bottle cozy, two Shiner beer glasses, and a decal for the inside of one of our outdoor bays.  (Sounds like a lot, but we knew before we got there that we'd be shopping for some cool Shiner stuff for our patio) -- D.


After I ran out of beer tokens, we headed for the local post office to pick up our mail.  Along the way, Hector (the guy that helped us find our site at the park) recognized us while driving by in his truck and waved.  I am sure that all Texans are not overly friendly, but we seem to encounter those that are everywhere we go.

Lunch time.  We selected the Shiner Restaurant and Tavern.  The inside matched the outside.  The walls were lined with old library shelves displaying Texas artifacts.  The ceiling was tin.  Right after we sat down, Dianne noticed Hector at another table, also having lunch, and he waved to us again.  (We feel like members of the family).  I insisted that Dianne pose between the Indian and the Shiner ice bucket.  Not her idea.  Really, not her idea.  What a good sport.

We both had the Friday lunch special -- chicken fried steak with made-from-scratch gravy and mashed potatoes; we are in Texas, after all.  Definitely not on our diets, but sometimes ya gotta splurge.  A heart attack on a plate, but sooo good.  Tonight, I will only eat veggies.  Really, that is true.  

After dinner, we took a few pictures of the restored downtown area.

I noticed a common theme.  Can you pick it out?

We drove by a beautiful Catholic Church (stained glass windows imported from Bavaria)....

I insisted that Dianne pose again.......

And we headed back to our peaceful spot in the park.

Prosit!!!!


Dianne here:  Stop the presses!   This was the original end of the blog today.  Just had to add a little more:


Should you camp in the municipal park at Shiner, you may not need your alarm clock.  7:00 a.m. Friday morning the marching band practiced (had to be before school, not first period as Roger stated).  We planned our departure for first thing Saturday morning, heading to the gulf coast.  Well, 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning we awakened to the sound of multiple school buses and hundreds of adolescent voices right outside our windows!

We were completely surrounded by the trappings of a multi-school cross country invitational tournament!   And I do mean surrounded -- even our picnic table was piled high with gym bags!  

The runners went on a route around the large field across from our motor home, and back on the road directly in front of our large windows before looping back to the finish line.  It was obvious we were not going to be leaving any time soon!  

One of the best things about retirement is the lack of schedules.   We decided to forget about leaving before the end of the tournament (we couldn't have anyway) and just kick back and enjoy the view.  It brought back memories to Roger of his days as principal of a large junior high school and all the extracurricular events he attended there as principal.  This also seemed to be junior-high-age kids.


The pet photo of the day shows Charlie and Bandido watching the cross country runners pass by our site.  Even they enjoyed the show!

Tomorrow.... on to the Gulf of Mexico (unless we change our minds).